The city has a total area of 4,970 square kilometres (1,920 sq mi), and a population of 2,428,534 at the 2010 census whom 1,340,993 in the built up area made of 3 urban districts (Zhanqian, Xishi and Laobian) and Dashiqiao City now linked to the urban core.

To avoid confusion between the two locations, careful English writers of the early 20th century would sometimes use "Newchwang" for Yingkou (explaining that "Ying-kow, ... outside Manchuria, ... is known only as Newchwang") and Niu-chuang (the proper Wade-Giles transcription of '牛庄') for the actual inland Niuzhang Town.[2]

Yingkou is located in the northwestern part of the Liaodong Peninsula, and on the left bank of the Liaohe River, which enters the sea in the city. To the west is the Liaodong Bay of the Bohai Gulf, and the city thus looks across to Jinzhou and Huludao. Bordering prefecture cities are:

Anshan (N and NE)

Dalian (S)

Panjin (NW)

The city's metro area is located 166 km (103 mi) from the provincial capital of Shenyang, 204 km (127 mi) from Dalian, 84 kilometres (52 mi) from Anshan, and 70 km (43 mi) from Panjin. The city is located at latitude 39° 55'−40° 56' N and longitude 121° 56'−123° 02' E. At its greatest width, the city spans 111.8 km (69.5 mi) from north to south and 50.7 km (31.5 mi) from east to west. The total area of the city is 5,365 km2 (2,071 sq mi), occupying a mere 4.9% of the provincial area. The city has a total coastline of 96 km (60 mi).

Yingkou has a four-season humid continental climate (KöppenDwa) with strong monsoonal influences. Though the climate is somewhat tempered by the city's location on the Bohai Gulf, winters are long, windy, cold but dry, and summers are hot and humid. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −8.5 °C (16.7 °F) in January to 25.0 °C (77.0 °F) in July, while the annual mean is 9.48 °C (49.1 °F). Precipitation is somewhat enhanced by the coastal location, with a majority of the annual rainfall occurring in July and August alone. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 51% in July to 68% in three months, the city receives 2,774 hours of bright sunshine annually.

In late 2005, the Party Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, Li Keqiang, initiated the "Five Points, One Line" strategy to develop the entire Liaoning coastline area, and in particular focusing on the "five points" of the Changxing Island Harbor Industrial Zone in Dalian; Yingkou Coastal Industrial Base; Liaoxi Jinzhou Bay Coastal Economic Zone; Dandong, and the Zhuanghe Huayuankou Industrial Zone.

As a result, Yingkou city is currently undergoing substantial expansion. From its current urban area of 54 km2 (21 sq mi), Phase One of the Coastal Base project is under way and is adding a further 44 km2 (17 sq mi) of industrial and urban areas to Yingkou. Phase Two (planned to start in 2010) will add a further massive 157 km2 (61 sq mi).

The land being used is largely marshland and reclaimed from the sea: in particular, it is largely unoccupied. As a result, the social and fiscal costs of development are less than are usual for Chinese urban and industrial development.

The Yingkou port area is also being very substantially increased in size, in the Bayuquan and Xianren harbours.